But Corus, the Dutch company that merged with British Steel, has kept the Port Talbot plant open.It is judged to be one of the most efficient in Europe. Initially workers there thought they had escaped the job cuts, which affected other plants around the country. However, about 6,000 jobs were lost in the region, with at least 200 going at Port Talbot.Michael Leahy, general secretary of the Iron and Steel Trades Confederation, said: "We will be launching our own investigation to find out exactly what caused the explosion. We shall be working closely with Corus but we shall also be asking them some serious questions to find out why this has happened Our members expect nothing less.". It is perhaps the first great adventure of the 21st century. When Andy Elson and Colin Prescot take off in an attempt to break the 40-year-old world altitude record, they plan to reach the edge of space.
It is perhaps the first great adventure of the 21st century. When Andy Elson and Colin Prescot take off in an attempt to break the 40-year-old world altitude record, they plan to reach the edge of space. The British men aim to take off in Cornwall next summer, flying an open-deck gondola below a helium balloon, made in Glastonbury, which is taller than the Empire State Building.Mr Elson, 48, an aeronautical engineer who left school at 16 with no qualifications, designed the balloon to be made from polythene thinner than a freezer bag.If the day is clear and they succeed in reaching 132,000ft, or 25 miles, they will be visible from almost anywhere in Britain. At the top of the flight, the men will either slowly descend or abandon the balloon to freefall at 850mph to an altitude at which they can safely open their parachutes.They plan to breathe bottled oxygen and wear Russian-style space suits as protection against cosmic radiation.They hope to ascend 17,000ft higher than the record set by two US Navy pilots in 1961. They also plan to gather scientific data about a largely unexplored part of the stratosphere.. Britain's livestock industry took a step closer to a full recovery from a foot–and–mouth epidemic as restrictions on 8,500 farms in northern England were lifted.
Britain's livestock industry took a step closer to a full recovery from a foot–and–mouth epidemic as restrictions on 8,500 farms in northern England were lifted. The move by the Department for Environment, or Defra, left just 6,630 farms restricted by disease controls, down from more than 140,000 at the epidemic's height.It has been more than five weeks since the last new case of foot–and–mouth, raising hopes that the livestock disease has been contained.However, a senior health official warned Tuesday that the risk of a fresh outbreak remained high because the disease could lie dormant somewhere in Britain.Rural Affairs Minister Lord Whitty repeated those concerns Thursday as he welcomed the latest lifting of livestock movement restrictions."I would emphasize that now, as always, vigilance and strict biosecurity are essential," he said. "We cannot afford to relax our guard."Foot–and–mouth is a highly contagious disease that causes wasting in cloven–hoofed animals such as cows, sheep and pigs. While neither fatal to animals nor infectious in humans, it can ravage a country's livestock trade.After more than 30 disease–free years, foot–and–mouth was found Feb 20 among pigs in a slaughterhouse By Sept. 30, 2,030 cases had been confirmed across Britain.Nearly 4 million animals have been slaughtered by the government in its fight to contain the disease.. A second body was today found at the site of explosion at the Corus steelworks in Port Talbot, south Wales, police said. A second body was today found at the site of explosion at the Corus steelworks, in Port Talbot, south Wales, police said. Rescue crews scouring the area around blast furnace number five at the plant found the body – taking the death toll to two.One worker had remained unaccounted for in the wake of the blast which last night killed one man and left 13 other people in hospital – five of them critical.Superintendent Richard Lewis of the South Wales Police Force said: "We have found a body around an area we have been searching this morning and we are now trying to reclaim it."One person was reported missing last night and we are now no longer looking for anybody at the scene of the accident."But we cannot yet confirm that we have found the missing person until he has been formally identified."The missing person was believed to be a 20–year–old man who was working in the area of blast furnace number five when the explosion took place.The five men on life–support machines are suffering from severe burns.. Tony Blair rejected a plea yesterday by Pakistan's President, General Pervez Musharraf, for bombing of Afghanistan to stop during Ramadan.
